1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to biomedical devices and, in particular, the invention relates to the accurate noninvasive measurement of instantaneous fetal heart rate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Significant progress has been made in the science of electrocardiography since 1938. Heart rate and biophysical profiles are routinely derived from multi-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) in animals and humans after birth. In contrast, only limited heart monitoring technologies exist for the fetus. Moreover, available technology fails to satisfy many existing needs in fetal ECG monitoring, both to support clinical assessment of fetal health and fundamental research on fetal development.
The present inventors have determined that there is a significant need to reduce the technology gap that persists in fetal ECG monitoring in order to support advanced assessments of fetal health and development.